Dear one
by July1996
Summary: Aslan said he could be found in her world, however, Lucy never understand his last words. One afternoon in the market and bumping into a stranger can change that. One-Shot


_**Hey everyone!**_

_**This is a one shot, as you've already noticed. The idea popped into my head yesterday while I was watching The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I felt bad in the end, when Aslan tells the they can't come back! So I thought of this when he says his last words.**_

_**Before you read the story, I want to clarify a few things: first of all, is that I already know that Lucy is eleven in _**The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Secondly is that I already know that the words used by Aslan in this fic are not the sames he said in the book or the movie (I was just using my imaginetion to make the one shot).**_**_

_**_**And last, I want you to know that the end can be interpreted in many ways. Just know that it's an open end, and you may use **_**_****your****_**_** imaignetion to think what happens after this, right? This is just a short story to leave myself a little bit happier (because I was certainly sad while seeing the movie **_**_****:'(****_**_** ...)**_**_

_**_**Hope you ejoy it like I did, and don't forget to review your opinion, please!**_**_

* * *

><p><em>Dear one<em>

She stood, once again, in her lonely and silent bedroom, staring at the beautiful painting hanging from the dirty wall. She just couldn't take her eyes off of the ship in the painting, sealing the ocean: the prow was gilded and had the shape of the head of a dragon with its mouth wide open; it had a single mast and a large square sail of an intense purple; a very _Narnian _ship.

_Déjà vu_, Lucy thought.

Yes, she was, once again, thinking about Narnia, about her home. She had been thinking about Narnia for the past four years, in fact. _Four_ years. She was now about to turn eighteen, and she had grew into a beautiful young woman (she was aware of it; fortunately, since _that_ day in the Dawn Treader she had been aware of it). She would never forget Aslan's words when she saw him in the mirror. But hearing the statement from someone else was way more heartwarming, because young men would usually praise her beauty, like they had done with Susan (still did). It made her smile every time she thought about it.

But right now, there was no place for happiness in her heart.

Looking at the painting she once had gone through, made her heart torn. It reminded her of the fact that she was never to come back to the magical land where her friends and _family_ lived happily ever after (because Caspian, the dwarves, the centaurs, and every creature around her kingdom were, indeed, her family). Never coming back to Narnia was the only thing that kept her from being truly happy in her world; Narnia was the only thing missing. She wished she could go back and stay there forever. With her family and Aslan.

_Aslan._

She missed seeing his warming brown eyes that would at all times look at her with love, and running her fingers through his wonderful mane; she missed his wise and comforting words when she found herself lost or sad; she missed the happiness the Great Lion would always provide her whenever he was around. _She missed him_. She always would, until they met once again in His country. And she would, of course, always remember the last words he told her: _'Lucy, in your world I'm known by another name. Trust me, dear one, I'll be right there, just don't ever stop looking for me.'_

She wished those words had meant something for her. But they hadn't.

She wished, indeed, so many things.

She stayed there, staring at the painting for hours. Remembering and silently weeping. When Eustace called her from downstairs, she wiped the tears from her eyes and slowly walked to the living room. It was shopping time, Lucy noticed; they needed to get the groceriesautn Alberta had asked for from the market. While they walked toward it, if Eustace noticed her red puffy eyes, he didn't say anything. And she was glad.

But in the market, something happened; something Lucy would've never expected.

While she was paying for a few vegetables, she became aware of Eustace's disappearance, he was nowhere to be found. She stood in the same spot for minutes, thinking he would come back to the same place were they had parted ways. But at some point, she understood he had gotten lost; otherwise he wouldn't take so long. He picked her things and was about to start searching. When someone bumped into her.

The food she was carrying fell into the ground quickly. She stooped quickly to pick everything up, and noticed that whoever had run into her was helping her.

"I'm so sorry," she heard a male voice saying. Lucy stood up, everything inside the bags again, and looked up to meet the person who was standing right beside her. A young man, surely about Edmund's age. He had short golden hair, his features were well marked, and he wore nice clothes. But anything of that mattered once Lucy looked him in the eyes.

A warm light brown met her gaze.

She gasped, and stared at the handsome man for a few seconds. "It's alright," she said and gulped in a breath of air, shaking her head slightly to shake herself out of her paralyzed state, knowing she probably looked ridiculous. "It happens all the time."

The young man smiled at her. "I'm sure it does. Guess everyone wants to bump into you, m'lady," he said, never taking his eyes off of her. Lucy blushed at his statement and the way he called her. It felt strange, almost more intimate, like they had known each other longer than a couple of moments. She was not sure if saying thank you would've been proper, but he cut her off. "You've really grown into a beautiful woman."

She was confused for a moment. Did they really know each other?

"I'm sorry," she finally said, narrowing her eyes. "Do I know you? I'm quiet sure I've never seen you before, but perhaps my memory is failing me."

"Please, pardon me, I hadn't meant to be rude," he apologized needlessly, once he saw the uncertainty in Lucy's face. "My name is Austin," he introduced himself. Now she was sure he didn't know this young man; she didn't know anyone by the name Austin, except that guy in her grade whose name was Austin (or perhaps Justin). She was not entirely sure. But she was completely secure she did not know this Austin standing before her. "Austin Mellark."

"A pleasure," Lucy said, shaking Austin's extended hand. She felt the warmth radiating from his skin, thought she was still not aware of who this guy was.

Austin chuckled showing his perfect white teeth; he apparently read her mind because he said, "You truly don't know who I am, do you?" Lucy shook her head, a little embarrassed. Austin smiled and stared at her for a few seconds. He then said with an amused tone, "You offend me, Lucy Pevensie, I was certain you would recognize me."

Lucy was surprised, now. He knew her entire name. But then again, he said he knew her. "You know my name?"

Austin chuckled once again; it was a familiar laughter, Lucy noticed. Austin didn't respond instantly. He first, like a gentleman, took the bags from her hands and said, "Let me help you with that, please." Lucy didn't refuse, but continued to watch him with confusion. The young man finally looked her in the eye and whispered with a soft voice, "How someone could ever forget your name, _Queen Lucy_?"

That shocked her. It, in truth, took her completely unprepared, as if something had hit her hard in the chest. Her mouth opened and closed a few times (which made Austin smile), but the words just wouldn't come out. "How did you call me?" she finally asked, her eyes wide.

Austin started walking towards the other shops, but when he saw she was not fallowing her, he turned around, facing her. "You don't like people calling you like that, your majesty?" She was so shocked she didn't even notice when her own legs started walking towards him. "You still are a Queen, Lucy. Once King or Queen, forever King or Queen. Remember?"

"_Who_ are you?" she whispered, once she was in front of him again.

And then, she saw something that felt like a hundred pounds falling over her shoulders: his eyes shined when the bright sun hit them from the perfect angle. It made her believe for a minute that she may be in his presence. That he had found her, not otherwise. That warm feeling started growing in her chest (like it always did whenever her hopes were up), and she even thought of hugging him, of telling him how much she had missed him and how she had wished to understand his words earlier. But something stopped her, because the simple thought of _him_ being right there in front of her, just steps away…

The whole thing was just _insane_; she was turning into a lunatic. She had, unquestionably, lost her head.

So without looking back, she took her things from his hands and shoved pass him. Austin called her name a few times, and when she was finally meters away from him, he yelled something that inevitably entered into her ears, something that made the growing feeling in her chest spread all over her body. It made her eyes fill with tears, joy tears.

"You are not wrong. It _is_ me, dear one."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Thank you for reading! Don't forget to Review!<strong>_


End file.
